Men with breast cancer more likely to be undertreated and not survive

ABC ^ | 10/1/2019 | Dr Kristen Kendrick

[RummyChick]

The T-shirts read "Fight like a girl." But while October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month brings messages of strength and familiar pink ribbons, a fight rages on for the disease's lesser-known victims: men.

Though breast cancer strikes men much less often than women, a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association [JAMA] reveals that three to five years after a breast cancer diagnosis, men are less likely to be alive.

[RummyChick]

I had to resort to getting Obamacare this year. One of the mandates is genetic counseling given certain parameters.

I fit the parameters. That said, it was a bit of a fight and had to go through appeals process.

I encourage people to get your free test if you fit the parameters..even men.

Just so you know, Ovarian Cancer in your family is a red flag. The person does not have to be under 50 to qualify as one of your necessary people.

Also, genetic testing is like the wild west. Who you use does matter.

[American in Israel]

Cut back on non grass fed beef, increase your omega 3 and take vitamin d3 at 5000 or more a day or actually get a nice tan.

[RummyChick]

I had a thread about Pierce Brosnan’s wife and daughter dying of ovarian cancer. His wife clearly carried the genetic defect.

[RummyChick]

Btw,even though my family parameters allowed for free genetics test I came back clear on the markers they tested

Doesn’t mean I won’t get cancer.

[exDemMom]

I would say that a big part of the survival decrease for men is the belief that men don’t get breast cancer. They don’t look for it, and it is caught later. Any man who has it in his family should be vigilant.

There was a man at my last breast cancer survival group meeting. His mother also had it.

Another group with lower survival rates is young women. I’ve seen a few videos on YouTube of young women who felt something but could not get mammograms because their doctors or radiologist thought someone their age couldn’t have breast cancer. Often, the cancer has grown a lot and even metastasized before they can convince someone to give them the proper tests for diagnosis.

[lee martell]

Today’s news; Matthew Knowles, aka Beyonce’s father says that he has breast cancer.
Richard Roundtree (actor aka Shaft) says in 1993, he was diagnosed with it as well.

[RummyChick]

Beyonce’s dad has breast cancer.

There are a variety of factors in deciding whether you can get free testing.

I can’t remember them all but pretty sure a male person with breast cancer doesn’t have to be under 50 but I think you still need one more person if you don’t have cancer.

[American in Israel]

Studies have shown a link between breast cancer and omega 3 vs 6 imbalance. In grass fed beef the ratio is 1 to 1, in grain fed beef it is 1 to 12.

Vitamin d is currently being studied by the fda for approval as an anti cancer drug. Data mining studies uncovered a direct link between spontaneous remission rates in cancer and the blood levels of vitamin d.

So, if you were pre disposed genetically to breast cancer it would be wise to raise your vitamin d levels and to sprinkle a little fresh ground flax seed on your salads, while cutting way back on feedlot beef.

Lot cheaper than chemotherapy...

[American in Israel]

Oh, by the way, after the use of milk production hormones in beef, the rate of breast cancer in men raised by a factor of 50. But there have been no serious studies on that odd little factoid.

And you notice your milk cartons say right on them that no growth hormone is used on the cows? But do not mention that milk hormones are not used?

Organic milk even tastes better...

[Bobalu]

There is only one human genetic pattern, we all are different but the basic map is the same. The key that controls whether we develop as female or male is as everyone knows, the XX or XY chromosome.

The thing to remember is that whether we are male or female every single part exists in both sexes, albeit in vestigial form.

Thus males have undeveloped, vestigial breasts, and women have undeveloped, vestigial prostates as well as penises (don't google images of "enlarged clitoris" if you are easily shocked)

When a male gets breast cancer there is no question what it is since the male breasts are quite visible.

When a female gets prostate cancer it is always referred to as bladder cancer...any M.D. who would blurt out "you have prostate cancer" to a female is an idiot...why do that when the fact is not obvious and you can spare the poor woman needless pain.

Women having problems with their vestigial prostate tissue is thankfully quite rare and even many M.D.s are not aware that such tissue exists.

I offer the info here since freepers are a rugged lot and won't have much trouble learning of such an odd fact.

Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Volume 90, Issue 9, 6 May 1998,

"The female homologue of the male prostate is of clinical significance not only as a focus for acute and chronic infection, but also as the origin of other pathologic entities, including adenocarcinoma (3,4), a cancer which shows, as does its male counterpart, localized expression of PSA and PSAP (3,4).

Thus, there is convincing evidence that prostatic tissue exists in the female, and that the term “female prostate” is both fully justified and preferable to the terminology Skene's glands and ducts. The latter incorrectly implies that some other structure of an extraprostatic nature, rather than the prostate itself, is involved. If the female prostate exhibits the immunopermissiveness observed in the male prostate (5), it may also serve as a site for viral latency and origin of infection in women with human immunodeficiency virus.

Of perhaps equal importance is the expression of PSA (6). The existence in women of the counterpart of the male prostate, shown to express PSA, may provide a note of caution in considering the molecular basis of the apparent anomalous expression of PSA in male and female nonprostatic tissues, e.g., in female breast (1). Given observations on the association of PSA detection in breast cancer with steroid hormonereceptor positive tumors, one may envision (6) the existence of a complex regulatory gene network controlling the expression of PSA in several organs. Therefore, a given tissue (depending on the state of cellular differentiation) may express previously repressed genes after neoplastic transformation. Also, and not mutually exclusive, somatic mutations may lead to specific changes in PSA genes in cancer cell clones (6)."

[SomeCallMeTim]

One of my neighbors and very close friends, a man, died from breast cancer about three years ago. His funeral was held one week before his oldest daughter’s wedding. It was quite an emotional time.

His case was complicated by the fact that, he first noticed a “lump” during a period of time when he was out of work. He put off going to the Dr for a few months... until he was working again, with insurance. By that time, the very aggressive cancer had metastasized. With treatment, he survived a few more years.... but, really never had much of a long term chance.

Men CAN, and DO get breast cancer. And, it’s just a deadly, if not treated early.

[RummyChick]

Wish there was more of a study to determine if those men who do get cancer have
the defective gene..since males are more rare.
His family might want to get tested.
There is a firm that does it for 250 without insurance and 150 if out of network. My genetist uses them but i went with much more expensive myriad. Costs over 6 grand. They were the originator of the BRCA test and have the biggest data base

[RummyChick]

anecdotal..beyonce’s father does have the defective gene. seems like a good chance a man who has had breast cancer may have it. Doesn’t mean it will be passed on to children.

[SomeCallMeTim]

anecdotal..beyonce’s father does have the defective gene. seems like a good chance a man who has had breast cancer may have it. Doesn’t mean it will be passed on to children.

I don't know crap about Beyoncé's Dad. My friend had never been tested... I'd never heard of ANY man having breast cancer before him. He had two daughters, and one son. They've all been tested, and have NO GENE pre-cursor for breast cancer. I guess, it was just bad luck for him..

My wife has had it twice.... once at 35, once at 43. Been clear for 12 years since. I PRAY we've beaten it now.